(412) 749.0455

Info@AnglicansForLife.org

Need help?
Anglicans For Life logo with registered mark

Mark 3:20-35

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.” Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

By: The Very Rev. Robert S. Munday

As we read the Bible there are many reoccurring themes that Almighty God uses to emphasize the importance of his word to us. One of those themes is press on, keep your focus on Christ and never give up. Consider the Apostle Paul writing to Christians in Philippi, “…One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). I have found great encouragement from this reoccurring theme in the Holy Bible. It reminds me that no matter what lies in the past, no matter what missed opportunity, no matter what sin I have committed, God is here with me through the power of the Holy Spirit and I am forgiven in Jesus name pressing on deeper into His will for my life.

Paul personally knew and understood the challenge of moving forward in faith. He writes of having a ‘thorn in the flesh’ that even after pleading with God three times to remove it, the thorn remained. Many scholars have attempted to determined exactly what this thorn really was, however what for me is the most arresting insight from this bible passage is that in the midst of his struggling, God reassured Paul that his grace is sufficient.

In the midst or our ongoing struggles, God’s grace is sufficient for us. It enables us to move beyond the struggle and press on deeper into his love for us. There is no need to give up – God’s grace is available to us!

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.